I Could Read The Sky review

Get the Guinness in - - it's time for some elegiac, nostalgia-soaked irish drama. I Could Read The Sky tells the sombre story of a once-loved old rogue (Dermot Healy) who now lives alone in a barren London bedsit, reminiscing wildly about his youth in Ireland.

Director Nichola Bruce has fashioned a simple, yet lyrical film. She combines a haunting score with densely superimposed images to effectively capture a sense of memory as fragmented mess, punctuated by the odd moment of sudden clarity.

With his craggy face and sad, watery eyes, Healy delivers a powerful performance as the vessel for these flashback thoughts, weaving moving memories of his rural past, his long-dead wife Maggie (Maria Doyle Kennedy), his best friend PJ (Stephen Rea), his lost brother Francine (Brendan Coyle) and his time in exile. But, despite the hypnotic imagery, the movie's climax fudges the expected emotional clout.